Chapter 1: "Everyone stare at the white girl!!"

Hello! Well, most people who read this at first probably already know me, but I hope to join some communities. Sorry about my layout, I'll fix it over time, but I just hate picking colors and formatting.

To anyone who doesn't know me, my name is Jo, and I've been living in Korea for a week now. This blog is pretty much going to be limited to just my time here, I think; I have an LJ account as well, but that one is a bit more personal.

I'm very excited to be here! I'm having a little culture shock, but not the bad kind. More like the kind where everything is eye-catching, even the most mundane stuff. I came over by myself, and I don't know anyone here except for the other foreign teachers at the school where I work. I know almost no Korean, but I'm hoping to change that very soon. As usual when I move to a new place, I'm trying to be open-minded, and I haven't been disappointed. I'm obsessed with the spicy food and how nice people seem to be, despite the staring, which doesn't really bother me anyways ;-)

This isn't the first time I've lived in a foreign country, but doing things on my own still makes me a little nervous. This afternoon I ran out of food, thus necessitating a trip to the mini-market down the street. This is only the second time I've ventured out on my own to buy something, and the first time to go to this particular store. I've only just gotten a handle on the currency too. The people at the counter were very very nice, although the lady did not speak any English, and the man spoke only a little. I bought some chili paste, and he warned me that it was spicy :-D I love the chili seasoning here.

To celebrate my successful trip to the market, I went on to Dunkin' Donuts to buy myself a reward :-) There I learned the Korean word for "to-go"......which I think I have forgotten now. It's taken me this whole week to learn the Korean word for "thank you." Not nearly as easy as the German word for thank-you.

I think I'm really going to like the school where I teach. The curriculum is the most confusing thing I think I've ever had to wrap my brain around, but the kids are friggin adorable. I heard somewhere that it's not a sign of affection to pat children on the head in Korea, like it is in America, more like it's condescending here. That is very unfortunate, because I just want to give all of them little noogies. A few of the kids are difficult, but most are very well-trained. I just have to keep them all in plain view -_-

I'm hoping to learn all their names soon, and luckily, they've all picked out English names for our convenience and their entertainment. Most are fairly normal, some are odder, which makes me wonder where they heard them, and how English names sound to people who only think and hear Korean.

My apartment is okay. I'm a bit scared of the toilet, and the room is very cold and sterile, since the teacher who lived here before me nicked most of the odds and ends accumulated over the years. Charming. I'm looking forward to the summer, although I've been warned that it's pretty gross. Maybe I'll get some mosquito netting and hang it over my bed.

I'll post pics and videos soon.